Ready to discover the power of literature?

As our world hurtles from political upheaval to medical and climate emergencies, our English Literature degree helps you understand the stories that underpin our contemporary crises.

From society and race in classics like Shakespeare or Austen to modern American culture, and from twenty-first century gothic to love and criminality in the eighteenth century, our literature degree is relevant, vibrant, and inspiring. Its unique selling point is the work we do through our cultural partners to give students the chance to apply their literary study outside the university.

What stories will you learn to tell in our changing world?

How will I learn during the English Literature BA (Hons) degree course?

Your tutors will use a variety of teaching methods including lectures, seminars, group tasks and tutorials. These will be backed up by a well-designed support system that ensures you have a successful learning journey in each academic year. You will not only receive extensive feedback but also ‘feed-forward’ as tutors collaborate with you to explore how you can keep improving on previous work.  

How is this Literature course assessed?

Our assessment strategy is designed to support student-centred learning, based on our understanding that everyone has different needs, strengths, and enthusiasms. Assessments will develop your communication skills while also inspiring you to analyse evidence, pursue original thought and persuade others of your ideas. Assessment methods are engaging and diverse, including essays, exams, critical reviews, and even blogs as well as a final-year dissertation.

A wide range of option modules are offered on this course. To ensure the quality of the student learning experience, some modules are subject to minimum and maximum student numbers.

Who teaches the BA (Hons) English Literature course?

English at Northumbria enjoys international recognition for the quality of teaching and research. Our publications are ranked 21st in the country for their quality, by the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

Our staff actively explore and shape what literary studies mean in the 21st century, and our expertise and enthusiasm feed directly into what we teach. Our staff’s research interests include Renaissance literature, Romanticism, contemporary literature, popular culture, 18th century literature, American literature, and Modernism.

Where will I learn throughout my English Literature degree?

Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) is embedded throughout the course with tools such as the ‘Blackboard’ eLearning Portal and electronic reading lists that will guide your preparation for seminars and independent research. The use of TEL caters for different learning styles and encourages reflective thought.

The 24/7 University Library achieves some of the highest levels of student satisfaction in the UK and has held the Cabinet Office accreditation for Customer Service Excellence since 2010.

There are over half a million print books and another 500,000 electronic books available online. Databases include LION (Literature Online database) and MLA (bibliography database). Further facilities are available at the Institute for the Humanities, in the University’s Lipman Building, including a resource room, specialist computing equipment and interview rooms.

How will my BA (Hons) English Literature degree provide me with the skills needed for my career?

Employability is embedded throughout our learning and teaching strategies. Core and optional modules cultivate your competence and self-confidence, enhancing transferable skills such as high-level analysis and independent thinking. Our second-year students are given the option to take a Student Tutoring module, in which you will gain valuable experience by volunteering to help and observe in local high schools.

Our students are also given the option to take an interim year between their second and final year of study. This interim year allows you to gain valuable experience in the industry or study on a foreign exchange at a partnered university, ensuring that you stand out from the crowd when it’s time to apply for future jobs.

Our second-year students can also gain valuable experience through the literature and the museum module. This module gives you the chance to gain experience at local partnered heritage sites and museums.

With well-honed skills in communication and analysis, you will be ready to hit the ground running once you start a career. In recent years, our graduates have developed successful careers in journalism, the media, communications, publishing, librarianship, advertising, marketing, education (at various levels), and the civil service. Others have gone on to postgraduate study.

Whatever you decide to do, you will have strong employability as a result of having acquired the characteristics of a Northumbria graduate. These include critical reflection and self-learning, collaboration and curiosity, and the ability to apply your knowledge to solve problems in ways that are sustainable and ethical.